should I take another evaluation?

In another thread I stated that my vision has played a significant role in academic career. I'm considering the possibility of getting another educational evaluation done, this time I want my eye medical records available to the diagnostician who will be doing the testing, since I believe that my vision has impaired my ability to learn. I had vision therapy done when I was young, but at home when I was supposed to do these vision exercises I was very difficult and I didn't see the need to go through with the exercises with my mother, so of course I didn't reap the benefit of strengthening my one impaired eye.

I have a reservation though. I have documentation that is current, but my eye history wasn't taken into account the day of the test, the reason why is well I didn't even think of telling that to the diagnostician.

So if this wasn't taken into account and I feel it's really important should I go ahead and take another one or not?

My achievement level sin all academic areas are really really low, and well that's because I just didn't really care about my schooling when I was a child. But now I see the importance of an education and I want to catch up as much as I possibly can.

Knowing about the vision wouldn't change how you actually *did* on the scores -- or were you looking for an evaluation of your vision so that it would be less of a problem as you try to catch up?

The best way to figure out what you can do is to start doing it :-) I would spent, say, the next academic year working on those skills that you did so poorly on because now you care. (Come on out to ILlinois; we've got a nice little computer lab here with some good educational software for adults trying to catch up and people liek ME working here :-) How does your vision affect your learning now?

When I read text of any kind I'll start out fine then eventually my vison will get strained really easily. This tends to only happen when I try to read a book, plus when I read I need complete silence or else I get distracted really easily.

My eye doctor said that I shouldn't spend a lot of time infront of the computer with out taking brakes or else I'll be updating my glasses persription every year, the glare of the computer screen is hard on peoples eyes I guess.

Keep in mind that vision and eysight are two different things. Vision training my be helpful but so would the correct lenses. It is very complicated to explain but unfortunately most "eye doctors" treat the eye they do not treat vision.

Here are a few things you can do that might help. Wear polarizing lenses that will help with the glare quite a bit. My guess is your eyes are quite healthy and that your brain can't keep up with all the processing involved with reading and filtering out unneeded information like glare. I also think that your brain can't deal with what is going on in your periferal field. and the fact that your glasses don't cover the peripheral field also raises hell with your visual processing. I mean the lens in your eye doesn't know what to do with the blurred info it is getting from your peripheral areas of sight.

I don't want to get too technical as to why this may work for you but if you can physically block the periperal areas while you are reading. Basically what is happening is your brain is processing your peripheral vision when ever your eyes are open. You are not consciencely aware of what is in your peripery unless the brain detects motion. This is a survival thing. If there is a glitch in this procssing ot the signal strenght is unregulated you may experience nausea, vertigo, and panic. Vision is a very complex process. It involves your inner ear, optic nerves, cerebellum, visual cortex ect... Many processes have to occurr very rapidly.

Anyway try this. Block your out side peripheral vission for starts with black blinders and see if reading is any easier. Then get some cheap not too sticky black electrical tape and place it over the part of your lenses closest to your nose. Usually about a finger width will do the trick. You may have to experiment a bit with where to position the tape. your may notice that the print will appear darker, clearer and more stable. If this works get a pair of glasses and modify them for the task of reading.

I noticed more visual difficulty when I switched from glass to plastic lenses many years ago. Plastic and poly-carbonate lenses IMHO cause more distortion and chromatic aberation than glass. I believe that glass has superior optical qualities. It is just so heavy. There is also a curve that is used to obtain a lens optical strength several different curves can arrive at the same strength. depending on the size and shape of the lenses, amount of correction required and the patient's needs different curves should be used. It is my understanding that this part of the process is often neglected. The idea that your eyes "adapt" to the lenses is BS. It is your brain that adapts. I don;t think that is a good thing.

I hope to get laser correction some day. Then all I'll need is reading glasses.

[quor were you looking for an evaluation of your vision so that it would be less of a problem as you try to catch up?
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Sue I never even thought of that until you mentioned it. I will contact my optomotrist (can't spell that word) and ask him what the cost and benefit of having that done will do.

Jerry if my printer was working I would print out what you wrote and give it more careful self anyaliasis and try to come to an educated decision on your advice, my fricken monitor strains my eyes really bad, and if I spend to much time infront of the cpu reading it gives me headaches.[/quote]